Holiday Shine

Posted on December 16, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

The Holidays are upon us and what better way to celebrate than to look the part with lots of glitz and glam. I posted the photo above on Instagram and decided to show you all what products I used. I am in love with the rusty copper shade I used all over the lid! Colors like this are a great way to add a bit of shine without it being too overpowering or for those who are not into chunks of glitter on your eyelid (for those that are I will have a post up for you soon). I hope to soon be able to incorporate mini video clips on other makeup looks I create. Well then, lets get started!

Base: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Primer great for creating a smooth canvas and filing in pores before applying foundation.
Color Corrector: Bobbi Brown in the shade Peach (I put this under my foundation to counter-act the darkness under my eyes and around my mouth)
Foundation: Ex1 Invisiwear foundation in the shades F300 & F400 mixed together (I am so pale during winter months)
Concealer: Maybelline Fit Me in the shade medium #25 under my eyes
Bronzer: NYX matte bronzer in the shade Deep-Tan to give my face some all over color and I also used it for slight contouring
Blush: MAC sheertone blush in the shade Peaches
Eyeshadows: Makeup Geek’s vanilla bean for brow bone highlight, Revlon Matte in the shade rich sable for the crease and outer corner and for the standout color I used NYX loose pearl pigment in the shade Rust ( I wet my brush a bit with MAC’s fix plus)
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills brow wiz in the shade Dark Brown
Eyelashes: One coat of Too Faced Better than Sex mascara and on top a coat of Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes.
Lips: MAC lipstick in the shade Craving ( I dabbed it with my finger) topped it off with Gerard Cosmetics lipgloss in the shade Nude.

Here’s a closer look of the shadow

How vibrant does that cooper shade look? Utterly Obsessed!
Hope you all enjoyed this quick “tutorial” so to speak. Once again I will be working on putting out Video Clips so you can actually see what I am doing.

What are some of your favorite Holiday looks? Leave comments/requests down below!
Happy Holidays everyone!
-Gwen

Makeup Looks

Posted on October 26, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Happy Sunday Everyone! It’s been a while since I have done a makeup post so I decided to photograph the looks I did on mis mejor amigas before a casual night out. I am also working on my application skills and what a better way to do it right? Lets take a look at these beauties…

L-R Cinthia, Lucy & Emily

First one up is Cinthia: She has really great skin and normally doesn’t wear any foundation. She asked for the “jlo glow”. Here’s a closer look at what I came up with:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 foundation shade #857 (golden tan) mixed with Gerard Cosmetics BB plus illumination. MAC prep and prime in bright forecast (undereye brightening), Anastasia Contour kit Shade Fawn and Havanna. BH cosmetics blush palette (peach shade) Mary-Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in Dark Brown
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low, shadows: Amber lights (Entire lid), Texture (crease) and naked lunch (brow highlight). Revlon matte shadow in Rich Sable (outer corner).NYX jumbo eye pencil in white (base), E.L.F false lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel liner
Lips: Limecrime lipstick in Cosmopop and Gerard Cosmetics gloss in the shade nude.

Next up is Lucy: She and I can talk makeup for hours upon hours! She too has great skin and loves defined brows. Here’s what I created on her:

Products used:

Face: Becca Ever matte primer, Tarte Amazonian clay in the shade tan-deep sand mixed with Bare Minerals Bareskin Foundation in the shade Bare Caramel. Mac pro long-wear concealer in the shade W35 & W30 Anastasia contour kit in the shade Havana, MAC prep and prime in the shade Bright Forecast. BH Cosmetics blush palette (berry shades to the top right) Mary- Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low. NYX jumbo pencil in white. Buff (brow highlight) Rose (lid)from Lorac Pro Palette 2, Revlon Matte shadow in Rich sable (crease) and Makeup geek’s Bitten (outer corner). Loreal voluminous mascara, E.L.F Lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel eyeliner.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz (dark Brown) and dipbrow pomade (medium brown)
Lips: Rimmel Lip Liner in Cherry kiss, Too Faced Melted lipsticks in the shade Berry.

Last but certainly not least Emily: Doesn’t she have great lashes? (no falsies used). Emily loves bold lips which is why I wanted to give her a softer eye look, Here’s what I came up with:

Products used:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Neutrogena nourishing long wear foundation in the shade warm beige, MAC prep and prime in Bright forecast, Anastasia contour kit in the shade Fawn, MAC blush in peaches, The Balm Mary-Lou-Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in the shade chocolate
Eyes: MAC paint pot in “layin low” Naked 3 palette in the shades Dust (lid), Nooner (crease), Mugshot (outer corner) and Strange (brow highlight), Sephora Rio nights gel liner, Mascara Loreal Voluminous
Lips: Rimmel in Cherry kiss and MAC Fashion Revival lipstick

There you have it guys. Hopefully these looks can be of inspiration to you.
If anyone has any makeup looks you would want to me try please let me know down below.

Thanks to these silly girls for letting me experiment with them

Hasta Pronto!
-Gwen

JLo Glow

Posted on August 18, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

I am so sad that Mother nature did not give the big apple a scorching hot summer this year. We are now in the middle of August already experiencing September like temperatures, don’t get me wrong Autumn is my other favorite season but I still needed some more sun in my life! Ok, enough with the rant, if you’re like me and did not get the chance to visit the beach here is how I created a faux tan or that JLo glow as some would call it before summer officially ends.

To achieve this glowy bronzy look I used all of these products below:

From the MAC palette I used Brown Script (lower left) on my crease and lower lash line. I used Amber Lights (top right) on the entire lid
From the Lorac palette I used Buff (top row left) for my brow highlight and Mocha (4th from the left on the bottom) to touch up the outer v and lower lash line

– One of the main products in making the skin appear more dewy is to add a liquid illuminizer to your foundation. I opted for the Gerard Cosmetics BB plus illumination crème, a pea sized pump is all you need to mix into your foundation and it will cover your entire face.
– Another key component in creating a bronzy effect is of course bronzer. I used my L’Oreal true match powder in the shade Cocoa to warm up my entire face. I also took a contour brush and very lightly carved under my cheek bones.
– Lastly what will give you the ultimate glowy effect is a highlighter. For this particular look I chose the Sonia Kashuk illuminating bronzer in the shade goddess. This color is really golden and gives you the perfect sunkissed glow.
* This is an extra step, but since I wanted to mimic Jennifer Lopez’s all over bronzed look I also placed a mixture of brown and bronzy shades on my eyes and finished the look with her signature peachy nude lip.

I leave you all with a photo of the woman who not only inspired this look but also inspires me to work hard.

Here’s a detailed list of the products I used:

Benefit Porefessional face primer

Bare Minerals Bare Skin Foundation in the shade Bare Caramel

Gerard Cosmetics BB Illuminating crème

Tarte Maracuja creaseless concealer in the shade Medium Tan

NYX blotting powder in the shade Medium/Dark

Anastasia Brow Whiz in the shade Brunette

Lorac Behind the Scenes eyelid primer & Pro Palette 2 colors: Buff and Mocha

MAC Eyeshadows Brown Script and Amber lights

Too Faced “Better than Sex” mascara

L’Oreal Privee lipsticks in the Jennifer Lopez and Eva Mendes Shades

NYX Butter Gloss in the shade Cherry Cheesecake

*Products can be found in your local drugstore , Sephora or Ulta.

Hope you all enjoy what’s left of summer!

-Gwen

What’s in my makeup bag

Posted on August 11, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

While I am totally obsessed with makeup and would love to have a “beat” face during the week my super busy schedule does not allow me the time to get all dolled up, but I of course cannot leave the house looking sleep deprived so I wanted to show you all my weekday makeup bag.(I transform into a totally different person during the weekend, but we’ll save that for another post).

Morning Routine:
After washing my face and applying moisturizer I follow up with Revlon’s lightweight CC cream which helps even out my skin tone. Next I fill in my brows a bit with the brow wiz from Anastasia, to set them I add Benefit’s gimmie brow in the dark shade. During the summer months I don’t like to go too heavy with concealer so I apply NYX’s dark circle concealer which is creamy but more on the sheer side. My next step is Loreal’s voluminous full definition mascara, I then move on to dab a bit of Stila’s cheek and lip stain on the apples of my cheeks. Lastly I make sure my lips are hydrated by using Burt’s Bee’s chapstick.

Evening: If I happen to be going somewhere after work I will re-apply some of the blush, add a bit of Revlon’s illuminator as a cheek highlight and re-curl my eyelashes. A pop of lip color also transforms my minimal day time look for a evening out in the city. Mac’s Twig, Whitening lightening’s gloss in raspberry sherbet and Loreal’s Le Matte in the color “She’s so Matte” have been my favorites these days.

I also carry a roller ball perfume (Versace Bright Crystal), Evian facial mist for when I need to refresh my face, hand sanitizer and of course sunscreen.

Most of these products can be found in Sephora, Ulta or your local drugstore.

What are some of your weekday beauty must haves?
I would love to hear what they are, leave your comments down below!

Till next time
-Gwen

Beautycon NYC

Posted on May 28, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Beautycon was in NYC this past weekend for the first time and boy was it fun! For those of you who aren’t familiar with what Beautycon is it is a fashion and beauty conference for the online community, such as bloggers and those who have Youtube channels and it is of course open to the public as well. Beautycon consists of interactive presentations, panel discussions and Q&A’s you are also given the chance to shop, learn about new products and most importantly be able to interact with some of the internet’s beauty icons.Ok on to the really exciting part which is meeting all of your beauty and fashion guru’s, I am thrilled to say that I was able to meet almost all of my favorites. Check out who they were down below! (Some of these photos were taken with my phone which is why they aren’t the best quality)

Amy Pham (Amypham.com)

Teni Panosian from Missmavendotcom

Carli (youtube: Carlibybel)

Brett ( youtube: Brettcap, he’s also Carli’s boyfriend)

Raye ( youtube: itsmyrayeraye)

Chatting with Maya (youtube: Shamelessmaya)

Dulce (youtube: Dulcecandy87)

Nadia ( Blog: nadiaaboulhosn.com)

There was a pink carpet theme which I thought was super cute! I might have taken it a bit too far with the posing, I thought I was a celebrity for a moment.

Here are my outfit details:
Crop top from Forever21
Striped midi skirt from Asos (curve)
Clog sandals from Maguba (If you live in the NYC area Shoe Market, Tani, DNA footwear and Soula have a small selection of Maguba shoes)

One more thing, I received a huge goodie bag from NYX cosmetics and will be doing a giveaway once we reach 150 followers. I will post the rules as soon as that happens!